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Austrian wines are the darlings of sommeliers from New York to LA, as are grower Champagnes. Even German Riesling, once grand but long forgotten, has begun to catch fire. Terry Theise may not be responsible for all this heat surrounding some of Europe's coolest vineyards. But he's been there to light the flames.
Most fine wine importers look to quality first, assembling a portfolio at a range of price points - and the reputation of the importer is built on the fact that all the wines are intrinsically good. Theise starts from a different place. It's the character of the wine that's important to him, a character instilled by the place where the wine is grown and by the people who made it. It's critical that the wine be good, but that's a secondary consideration. First, the wine must have something to say.
Theise has gathered a collection of great producers whose wines have plenty to say. They all hail from the northernmost reaches of the grape, where ripening is often slow and quality is not always a given. Theise deals with the quality issue by working with ambitious and fair-minded producers, and by doing the tasting and selection himself. So his portfolio is filled with wines of remarkable character, with personalities that grow expansive and ever more generous with age. Whether from Germany, Austria or Champagne, if the wine says Terry Theise Estate Selection on it, you can be sure it will be a fascinating wine to befriend.
Theise is certainly not the first talented taster to put his name on the wines he imports, not the first to assemble a great collection of estates. But by building a portfolio of wines based on character first, his focus, energy and humor have brought tremendous new exposure to the great northern vineyards of Europe.
-Wine & Spirits Buying Guide 2001
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